July 13 will mark the start of conference sessions, with musical presentations continuing in the evenings. The first session opens with Latin Music In the Digital Age: Where Do We Go From Here? Following that will be, Content Is King: Latin Music Synchs In The Streaming TV & Film Era. On LAMC’s final day, the conference session opens with The Band & The Brand: Reaching Latinos Through Music. This is followed by Producers in The Mix, a conversation with Eduardo Cabra and Carlos Alomar. Another conference panel, Another Brick In the Wall: Touring the USA in 2017 brings a close to scheduled conferences. Scheduled to take place after the conferences will be a LAMC Celebrate Brooklyn Show, which will be free to the public. Latin Alternative Music Conference will close July 15 with a free Central Park SummerStage Show with performances by Los Pericos, Chicano Batman and La Vida Boheme, closing out LAMC for 2017.

Expo Cine Video Television is a three day event in Mexico City opening July 12. This international expo wants to make the media, advertising and entertainment industry professionals that will be attending conscious of the modern techniques now available to make the sector more advanced. In 2017, Expo Cine Video Television, a convention organized by TelemundoCine Magazine and RevistaPantalla.com, will be celebrating 25 years in existence. But at the convention in Mexico City, there will be cause to also celebrate the 100 year anniversary celebration of Arri Camera Company’s existence. Cinetec is the exclusive distributor of Arri in Mexico that has been presenting equipment and new technologies every year since 1995 at the Expo Cine Video Televisión.

This year at Expo Cine Video Televisión visitors can register for four thematic workshops, one of which will be the Thematic-Marathon Workshop: 360 / Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality. Workshop contents will cover: new era of digital cameras, direct sound on the set – acoustic conditioning, Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality/360, IP Streaming and Big Data. The Expo will also host professional level meetings on certain days. Animators and Producers will be able to meet July 12 at the same time slot and in the same meeting hall. Cinematographers, Post-Production Professionals and Visual Artists will be able to meet July 13 at the same time slot and in the same floor area.

FilminLatino is a streaming film platform that offers a wide catalog of feature films, documentaries, classics, short films, series, and children’s films. With a wide variety of tapes of all genres and nationalities, both authors and new talent, netizens can enjoy titles representing national and worldwide cinema. For the second consecutive year, the platform joins the awarding of the Ariel prize awarded by the Mexican Academy of Sciences and Cinematographic Arts (AMACC) and make the Ariel Special Channel available to the Mexican public. With more than 90 winning films of the award in previous editions, there is also the selection titled Rumbo al Ariel, which is awarded to some feature films and short films nominated in 2017. Additionally, FilminLatino will exclusively screen ‘Maquinaria Panamericana,’ by Joaquín del Paso, a Mexican production that competes in the category of Best Premium Opera, Best Original Screenplay and Best Female Revelation. The film will be shown for 24 hours on July 7.

The AT&T SHAPE event explores the convergence of technology and entertainment. The program features speakers, interactive demos, and hands-on creation activities. Visitors will tour Warner Bros. Studios’ Burbank outdoor sets and soundstages and get an up-close look at authentic props and costumes from iconic films. Director Kathryn Bigelow (‘Zero Dark Thirty,’ ‘The Hurt Locker,’ ‘Detroit’) opens the program’s discussion series remarking on her journey as a director, producer, and writer, and with her debut VR short film documentary “The Protectors — A Walk in the Ranger’s Shoes,” her thoughts on the role of VR and its impact on the future of storytelling, Visitors to the exhibits area of SHAPE can interact with demos that could offer a glimpse into the future by exploring virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality. Visitors will see how entertainment tech will revolutionize content creation. Visitors will be able to see, perhaps for the first time, some of the latest technology trends poised to go mainstream. Most of the SHAPE event will work off four main areas, Creator Camp, Create-a-thon, Entertainment Project, and Hackathon.

A planned Create-A-Thon that AT&T will host will be a competition that challenges content creators and filmmakers to produce a short film during a weekend. Script and proposal submissions for the AT&T Create-a-thon are now closed for this year’s event. But interested viewers can check back on July 20 to watch the finalists and vote for their choice. The AT&T Entertainment Project is an open challenge seeking undiscovered short films from filmmakers across the U.S. Submissions at this time would be closed. Any emerging indie filmmaker or student that can make the cut will have a chance to have their original stories air on AT&T’s AUDIENCE® Network, compete for cash prizes, and meet with AT&T execs. Winning shorts will be showcased at AT&T SHAPE.

The AT&T SHAPE Hackathon will bring together developers, designers and creators to hack innovative entertainment solutions. Teams will be challenged to use cutting-edge technologies to disrupt the way people consume, experience, and create content. Anyone interested in VR/AR, 2nd screen technology, video streaming, or other entertainment-related technologies, should find this event of interest. Other themed contests within the Hackathon competition include, Best Use of the AT&T Entertainment Experience Suite, Best Use of IBM Watson, Best Use of 2nd Screen Technology, Best Next Generation Advertising Solution, Best Use of Oculus Rift.

Brief details on other featured activities lined up include: speakers and industry insiders who will demonstrate the future of virtual reality, digital storytelling, interactive video, emerging tech in networking; preview of what’s next in content creation shown through exhibits, interactive demos that peer into new and innovative entertainment technology; ability to participate in the AT&T Create-a-thon and shoot a short film at Warner Bros. Studios using select iconic cityscapes and backlots; children may attend a version of Creator Camp, for kids ages 8 to 14 interested in learning about video and film production; view a gallery of undiscovered short films from aspiring storytellers who want to share their voices with the world and vote for entered films from the AT&T Entertainment Project that will present a winner; go out on the Warner Bros. Studio Tour and explore outdoor sets and soundstages used to create productions such as Gilmore Girls, The Big Bang Theory, and Argo. See original props, costumes, picture cars, and sets used from popular shows. Visit the DC Universe—DC Comics Exhibit, the real Central Perk Friends set, original Batman Museum—Batmobile Collection, and much more.

Now entering its 48th year the Comic-Con International show opens in San Diego, making it the country’s longest continuously-run comics and pop culture arts convention. July 19 is planned as a preview night for the five-day event. Comic-Con International is a nonprofit educational (umbrella) organization dedicated to creating awareness of, and appreciation for, comics and related popular artforms, primarily through the presentation of conventions and events that celebrate the historic and ongoing contribution of comics to art and culture. The event continues to offer the full comics and pop culture convention experience. There is a sizeable programming schedule featuring comics and all aspects of the popular arts, including hands-on workshops and educational and academic programming such as the Comics Arts Conference, anime and film screenings (including a separate film festival), games, the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards – the “Oscars” of the comics industry, a Masquerade costume competition with prizes and trophies, an Autograph Area, an Art Show, and Portfolio Reviews bringing together aspiring artists with major companies.

It used to be that if you bought a four-day badge to Comic-Con, you automatically gained entry to Preview Night which represented a sneak peek at the convention floor while it was still not ready for an official opening. But for some time now Preview Night has become hotly anticipated as the rest of the Comic-Con convention. Comic-Con and Warner Bros. Television (WBTV) are expected to continue their annual Preview Night tradition, in Ballroom 20, with an exclusive pilot screening of the midseason thriller Deception, plus exclusive video presentations of some of the most highly anticipated series of the 2017–18 television season — Krypton and Black Lightning — as well as a brand-new hour-long episode of Teen Titans Go!, and special surprises. Hardcore collectors will find Preview Night a good time to get a Comic-Con Exclusive. These are the limited edition toys and collectibles only available at SDCC. On the downside of preview night, not a lot of costumers turn out for preview night, probably due to the shorter hours allotted, and cosplay is an irrefutably important part of fan conventions.

Other than anything new found and newly revealed at SDCC Preview Night, the established program at Comic-Con will have the staple offerings that make it the popular destination it has become. These are the areas to consider along which San Diego Comic-Con 2017 will be broken down: Special Guests, Anime, Art Show, Autographs, Children’s Film Festival, Films, Games, Masquerade, Portfolio Review, Artists’ Alley, Fan Tables, overall Exhibit Hall. Certain of these events are quintessential highlights.

Comic-Con conducts Portfolio Review sessions with attending companies that include comic publishers, movie and TV studios, video game companies, and others. While the sessions may not always result in job offers, they strive to offer an honest and professional appraisal of the portfolio from seasoned industry insiders. Recommended formats to submit are 6-10 pages of revised sequential storytelling. And located in the Sails Pavilion upstairs at the Convention Center, the Art Show contains original works for sale by both amateurs and professionals. It also displays the nominated books and comics for this year’s Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards and houses a special exhibit devoted to members of the Will Eisner Hall of Fame. Requests to appear in the Autograph Area at Comic-Con International 2017 are being accepted. Please contact cci.autographs@comic-con.org for details.

Through portraying characters, creating moods, projecting stories with bits of drama, comedy, lightsaber battles, even some song and dance, the Masquerade event offers strong proof it is not just another costume contest or fashion show. The large elevated stage this event is mostly cast on has theater-style lighting, changing backdrops, and four large high-definition video screens providing close-up views gathered by multiple cameras. An audience fills the Convention Center’s Ballroom 20, and an overflow audience watch the show on large projection screens in the nearby Sails Pavilion and other ballrooms. There will be a Masquerade Review on Sunday afternoon so contestants may watch a large-screen video of their presentations and offer questions or comments to the Masquerade staff. The After-Masquerade party in the Sails Pavilion runs well past midnight should you visit there afterward.

Sound, lighting, video and rigging equipment that serve live events and productions such as touring concerts, musical productions, and corporate events will be arranged to showcase safety standards for complex rigging and trussing set-ups, and conceptualizing cutting edge set design and staging. AV integrators that supply audio visual, networking, control and other equipment for fixed installations will show systems and equipment used in corporate boardrooms and distributed networked offices, training and education facilities, public auditoriums, and houses of worship to give a few examples. For film and video professionals, there will be a range of technology for the production and post-production needs of those who work on set and in post-production, with particular hardware and software for their editing, grading, animation, and sound mixing needs. Mediatech will exhibit products and solutions that bridge the convergence between digital media and traditional broadcast, with over-the-top (OTT) and video on demand (VOD) services. Suppliers of pro audio equipment for recording studios, broadcast studio, and OB van installations, and DJ and pro music equipment to both the professional DJ and ‘bedroom’ DJ market will be in attendance.

Mediatech Africa is organized by Sun Circle Exhibitions and Reed Exhibitions as a media and entertainment technology trade show in Johannesburg. The Mediatech Africa sectors will include Broadcast, Sound – Light, AV Integration, Film – Video, Digital Media, Studio – DJ. Broadcast solutions, featuring servers, video and audio switchers, outside broadcast facilities, media asset management, transmission and connectivity technology, will address channel-in-a-box’ solutions for small operations, to more complex, high-end workflows for major public and pay-TV operators. Augmented and Virtual Reality are fields that are catching on and are creating a level of anticipation in things to come. Brainstorm Multimedia, a manufacturer of real-time 3D graphics and virtual studio solutions, will be in attendance at Mediatech with its latest version of their virtual studio application, InfinitySet 3. InfinitySet 3 is specifically designed for Augmented Reality and its features include Hand Tracking and Volumetric Illumination, as well as Aston, an advanced graphics creation, and playout solution.

The 2017 Games For Change Festival seeks to set a path to discovery for how games can impact education, healthcare, research, civics, and social issues. #G4C17 is co-hosted by Microsoft Corporation and Entertainment Software Association. The New York City Festival opening for three days on July 1 will be a convening for the gaming and social impact community exploring the positive power of digital games and virtual technology. Join a community of game experts, developers, funders, and social innovators for conversations, demos, workshops, networking events, sharing groundbreaking ideas, and interacting with new games for social change. The opening keynote, Ten Important Findings from the Research on Games for Impact: A Look Back Over the Last Decade of Research, delivered by Constance Steinkuehler. With over 100 speakers slated to take part, some of those included in the conference lineup are: Edward Wang, PlayMada; actress Anjati Bhimani, Voice of Symmetra in Overwatch; Jesse Vigil, USC School of Cinematic Arts; Luc St-Onge, Ubisoft; Mia Tramz, TIME Magazine; Allen Brooks, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; Amy Sterling, Eyewire; Drew Davidson, Carnegie Mellon Entertainment Technology Center; Steven Siegel, Global Game Jam; Christopher Graves, Ogilvy Center for Behavioral Science; Nika Nour, Entertainment Software Association.

The Festival offers programming tracks highlighting an emerging area of research and innovation within the games for impact sector: Civics and Social Issues – showing how games that help players engage with contemporary issues on matters of social justice, human development, and responsible citizenship; Neurogaming and Health – how games can improve health, fitness, cognitive skills and mindfulness through the interactive experiences and new technologies games bring; Games for Learning Summit – focuses are on new projects and research that evidence the power of game-based learning that is transforming education. VR for Change Summit.

This year, experience the VR for Change Summit, a new track addition that will explore how virtual technologies offer new ways to affect social change, spark discoveries, and tell stories with this emerging and evolving technology. Discover how virtual technologies are advancing real-world causes as will be described through talks, workshops, and demos. Meet with the developers, storytellers, educators, and researchers using VR, AR and other computer mediated immersive technologies in cutting-edge ways. Prior to the #G4C17 official open, affiliated sessions to the VR for Change Summit will be held on July 28-30, VR Brain Jam, a collaborative event that pairs neuroscience researchers and game developers to explore how VR can be used in neuroscience research and cognitive therapy. The game jam, co-hosted by Games for Change and Carnegie Mellon University’s Entertainment Technology Center. And on July 30, Minecraft Edu Curriculum Hackjam will convene 50 educators, designers, and Minecraft mentors to make subject-area curriculum relevant, immersive, and impactful for participants. Advanced registration is required for these early sessions.

The above events are only a sample of what is fully listed. Complete details are on the “Calendar of Global Media and Showbiz Industry Social Networking Events” page. If you like this report and other content found on The Actor’s Checklist, like the Facebook page at this link. India/France fusion band, Trinaad (formerly The Khayal Groove), is using crowdfunding to produce their next album. Learn more and become a supporter (with benefits). Visit their crowdfunding page here. This month’s photo placement shows (starting from top of page) ‘Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets’ will be a visually impressive film by French Director Luc Besson, made on a budget of 197 million Euros and based on the French science fiction comics series ‘Valérian and Laureline,’ set to open in late July. Next, Latin Alternative Music Conference, Creator Camp at AT&T SHAPE, San Diego Comic-Con logo, WBTV at Comic-Con, Mediatech Africa in Johannesburg. With August and summer season in full swing, the events calendar falls off somewhat. Just the same, here are important events coming up: Rhode Island International Film Festival happens in Providence, Building Great VR AR Products will be conducted from Culver City, Lollapalooza 2017 music festival will be back in Chicago, the Song Arts Academy Songwriting Summer Workshop will start in New York City, ADMA Global Forum will happen in Sydney NSW, OrlandoiX 2017 will be in Orlando, SuisseEMEX 2017 comes to Zurich, Edinburgh International Television Festival will be in Edinburgh.